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Wild Beasts and Their Ways

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is exceedingly cautious, and surveys everything connected with the locality before it ventures to recommence the feast. Even then, when assured of safety, it seldom eats the carcase where it lies, but seizing it by the throat, it drags the prey some 15 or 20 yards from the spot before it indulges in the meal. I have already described that the first meal consists of the buttocks and hindquarters; the second visit is devoted to the forequarters, after which but little remains for the vultures and jackals. It is essential that the night watcher should be raised about 10 feet above the ground, otherwise the tiger would probably obtain his scent. Night shooting is not attractive to myself, and I very seldom have indulged in such wearisome shikar. There is no particular satisfaction in sitting for hours in a cramped position, with mosquitoes stinging you from all directions, while your eyes are straining through the darkness, transforming every shadow into the expected game. Even should it appear, unless the moon is bright you will scarcely define the animal. I have heard well-authenticated accounts of persons who have patiently watched until they fell asleep from sheer weariness, and when they awoke, the dead bullock was no longer there, the tiger having dragged it away without disturbing the tired watcher. There are several methods of rendering the muzzle-sights of the rifle visible in partial darkness. A simple and effective arrangement is by a piece of thick white paper. This should be cut into a point and fastened upon the barrel with a piece of beeswax or shoemaker's wax, in addition to being tied with strong waxed packthread. If a bright starlight night and there is no foliage above the rifle, the white paper will be distinctly seen, especially if the light is behind the shoulder. A piece of lime made into thick paste, and stuck upon the muzzle-sight, is frequently used by native hunters; but if it is at hand, there is nothing so effective as luminous paint; this can be purchased in stoppered bottles and will last for years. A small supply would be always useful in an outfit. A man-eating tiger requires peculiar caution, not only lest it should observe the presence of the hunter, but he must remember that if upon the ground he himself becomes a bait for this exceedingly stealthy animal, which can approach without the slightest noise, and attack without giving any notice of its presence. A curious example of this danger was given a few years ago in the Nagpur district. A tigress had killed so many people that a large reward was offered for her destruction; she had killed and dragged away a native, but being disturbed, she had left the body without eating any portion. The shikaris considered that she would probably return to her prey during the night, if left undisturbed upon the spot where she had forsaken it. There were no trees, nor any timber that was suitable for the construction of a mucharn; it was accordingly resolved that four deep holes should be dug, forming the corners of a square, the body lying in the centre. Each hole was to be occupied by a shikari with his matchlock. The watchers took their positions. Nothing came; until at length the moon went down, and the night was dark. The men were afraid to get out of their hiding-places to walk home through the jungles that were infested by the man-eater; they remained in their holes, and some of them fell asleep. When daylight broke, three of the shikaris issued from their positions, but the fourth had disappeared; his hole was empty! A few yards distant, his matchlock was discovered lying upon the ground, and upon the dusty surface were the tracks of the tiger, and the sweeping trace where the body had been dragged as the man-eater carried it along. Upon following up the track, the remains of the unlucky shikari were discovered, a considerable portion having been devoured; but the tigress had disappeared. This cunning brute had won the game, and she was not killed until twelve months afterwards, although many persons devoted themselves to her pursuit. Many incredible stories have been told concerning the power of a tiger in CARRYING away his prey, and I have heard it positively stated by persons who should have known better, that a tiger can carry off a native cow simply through the strength of the jaws and neck. This is ridiculous, as the height of the cow exceeds that of the tiger, therefore a portion of the body must drag upon the ground. The cattle of India are exceedingly small, and are generally lean, the weight of an ordinary cow would hardly exceed 350 or 400 lbs.; as an average male tiger weighs about the same, it can of course drag its own weight by lifting the body partially in its mouth, and thus relieving the friction upon the ground. In this manner it is astonishing to see the strength exerted in pulling and lifting a dead bullock over projecting roots of trees, rocky torrent-beds, and obstructions that would appear to be insurmountable; but it is absurd to suppose that a tiger can actually lift and carry a full-grown cow or bullock in its jaws without leaving a trace of the drag upon the surface. Many persons when in pursuit of tigers are accustomed to tie up a small buffalo of four or six months old for bait; the natives will naturally supply the poorest specimen of their herds, unless it is specially selected; therefore it may be quite possible for a large male tiger to carry so small an animal without allowing any portion of the body (excepting the legs) to drag upon the ground. As a rule, the tiger will not attempt to carry, but it will lift and pull simultaneously if the body is heavy. The attack of a large tiger is terrific, and the effect may be well imagined of an animal of such vast muscular proportions, weighing between 400 and 500 lbs., springing with great velocity, and exerting its momentum at the instant that it seizes a bullock by the neck. It is supposed by the natives that the tiger, when well fastened upon the crest, by fixing its teeth in the back of the neck at the first onset, continues its spring so as to pass over the animal attacked. This wrenches the neck suddenly round, and as the animal struggles, the dislocation is easily effected. The tiger then changes the hold to underneath the throat, and drags the body to some convenient retreat,

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